Removable and collapsible seating fixture



1946- I A. B. RCGERS SR 2,409,316

REMOVABLE AND COLLAPSIBLE SEATING FIXTURE Fi1ed 0c t. l2, 1942 4Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ALLA/Y 5. 4206525 5e.

7 Arlee/v53:

Oct. 15, 1946. 5, ROGERS, 5 2,409,316

REMOVABLE AND COLLARSIBLE' SEATING FIXTURE Filed Oct. 12, 1942 4Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. AMA/M 5:206585 5e A. B ROGERS, SR 2,409,316

REMOVABLE 4ND COLLAPSIBLE SEATING FIXTURE Filed Oct. 12, .1942 4Sheets-Sheet s I'Jg B.

I INVENIOR v- AMA/V 5.206625 52.

. BY g Arman E) Oct. 15, 194. A. B. RoGERs'sR REMOVABLE AND COLLAPSIBLESEATING FIXTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 12', 1942 MAN ejewms s2.

Patented Oct. 15, 1946 REMOVABLE AND COLLAPSIBLE SEATING FIXTURE AllanB. Rogers, S12, Santa Monica, Calif., as-

signorto DouglasAii-craft Company, Inc., ,Santa Monica, Calif.

Applicationootobel" 12, 1942, Serial No. 461,807

' 8 Claims. '1 flfhis invention relates to anadjustable folding chairwhich in its preferred embodiment is particularly adapted ,for use ,inairplanes wherein it is desired to vary the sizes of the passenger orcargo compartments to suitthe particular demands fonaccommoda tions oneach trip.

"It has been the practice 'to designate certain airplane models as cargocarrying airplanes and certain other models'aspassenger carryingairplanes. In 'most passenger vcarrying airplanes it has been customaryto set aside a certain amount of spacemearthe centerof gravity of theairplane for carrying cargo and air express. This cargo carrying spaceat times is too small to care {or the volume of cargogavailable. Atother times the passenger carrying space is too small. IE'or example insome districts early morning and early evening trips use :all availablespace for passengers while other trips during the day require .a lessernumber ,of chairs and more cargo space. It is not profitableto haulafullyloaded airplane in one direction and return it empty.

liurthermore the number of airplanes available .on most airlines islimited-and it is not feasible tohave one airplane for cargo andanotherfor passengers. "Therefore, that the airlines may hold at a-low figurethe mileage cost, an airplane should haul imorecargo during'the hoursof'light passengertraffic than the hours of heavy passenger traffic toutilize the full revenue caincreased or decreased. In orderto enlargethe cargo compartment in this type of --airplane interior it isnecessary to remove a predetermined number of passenger "chairs fromtheir wall and iioor mountings when the wall separating the cargo andpassenger compartments is moved to increase'the cargo compartment. It isfurther desirable that the chairs he of light construction sothat theymay be moved with ease to stowing position as disclosed in Patent No.1396,039.

The chair of this invention-has I a light tubing gframe comprisingspaced side members the legs of which ,are adapted to be quickly removedfrom the yvall and the floorand .folded compactly un- 'der theifrarn'e.A-s,eat and back which areprovided between the upright members areinterconnected and interlocked in such a way that the back maybe-adjusted to occupy severalpositions varyingfrom upright tosemi-reclining by 2 longitudinally shifting the seat. Arms provided onthe side members may'be moved toa folding position so that with bothlegs and arms folded the chair becomes a compact article for stowing inanother portion of the airplane.

The chairs may The used either singly or in multiple as the spaceavailable may determine, twochair units'having a common side framebetween them. They may be attached toa wall at one end' in lieu of"being supported .byJIegs at that end. When a chairis thus supported awall attachment plate is secured to the ends of the crossmembers of thechair adjacent the wall in lieu of legs.

The principal object of this invention is to provide :a chair forairplanes or the like which is light in construction, simple inoperation and requires a minimum of time for removal from the floorfor-stowing.

Another object of this invention is to provide a tubular frame havingupright side members the lower portions of which are .foldablethereunder.

Another object of this invention isto provide quick'release floorattachments on each of-the foldable-legs. 7

Another object of this invention is to'provide means for changin'g theseat and seat back from an upright to a semi-reclining position.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for folding theseat so that it can be made into a neat compact package for stowing.

Another objectof this invention is to provide means for attaching asecond chairto the first to provide a substantial unit of attractiveappearance.

Another objectof this invention is to provide "meansior attaching andlocking the seats tothe wall at the same time they are-attached tothefloor.

jStill another object of this invention is to provide on the upperportion of the side members means for fol-ding the arms snugly thereon.

iFurther objectsand advantages of this invention will be brought outinthe following description takenjin connection with the accompanyingdrawings.andappendedclaims.

erring now to .the' drawings:

-Ei gure gl-isa perspective view showing the pre- Tierred embodiment ofthe folding chair.

rfFigu-re 2 isapartialside elevation ofthe folding chair. 1

Figure Bis a sjide elevation of the chair with seat and back in foldedposition.

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the chair showing it completely folded.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the automatic arm attachmentcatch.

Figure 6 is an enlarged side elevation of the chair back locking device.

Figure 7 is an enlarged section through the quick-release floorattachment showing the attachment set in the locked position.

Figure 8 is an enlarged section through the quick-release floorattachment similar to Figure '7 showing the attachment set in theunlocked position.

Figure 9 is a perspective view showing the method of attaching twochairs to make a single unit.

Figure 10 is a side elevation of the wall attachment bracket whichattache to the second seat frame.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the wall bracket locking deviceshowing a fragmentary portion of the Wall bracket in place.

Figure 12 is a top elevation of the wall bracket inserted in the lockingdevice.

Figure 13 is a fragmentary elevational view of the sleeve I03, showingthe slot I 08.

Figure 14 is a reduced sectional view taken as indicated by the lineI4-I4 of Figure 7.

Figure 15 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the means for lockingthe seat in a desired adjusted position.

In detail and with reference to the accompanying drawings in thepreferred embodiment of this invention, Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 show achair I0 having two horizontally spaced rigid upper side frame membersI2 which are supported by foldable front and rear legs I4 and I 6, Thelegs I4 and I6 are pivoted to the members at 22 and 24, and are eachsecurable in either horizontal or vertical position by the spring urgeddetent pin 23, from which positions they may be released by pressureapplied to the legtangentially of the hinge axis. These legs are bracedby a tubular bar 26 which is fastened to the front leg I4 at 28 andextends upwardly and rearwardly to the pivot point 24. The frame alsocomprises a front cross member I8 and a rear cross member adapted tohold the side members I2 in rigid spaced relation. The front crossmember I8 is provided with a pair of rollers MI and 32 rotatablethereon.

A seat 34 is suspended at its rear corners by a pair of links 36 whichare pivoted at 38 to the seat frame 40 and pivoted at their upper endsto the frame member I2 at 42. The forward portion of the seatrides onthe rollers and 32 on the front cross member I8. A chair back 44 ispivoted to and between the members I2 at 42 on the same axis with thelinks 36. As shown in Figure 6 a locking lever 46 is pivoted at 48 toeach of the links 36. This locking lever is provided with a hook 50 onone extremity thereof which is yieldably held in engagement with a pin52 by a spring 54 (see Fig. 6), The pin 52 is set in the lower portionof the back frame and prevents accidental separation of the back fromthe seat. The hook and pin connection nevertheless permits the back tobe angularly moved about the axis 42 as the seat is moved relative tothe frame.

The forward portions of a pair of arm rests 56 and 58 are pivoted to themembers I2 by means of links 50, Each link is pivotally connected to anarm at B2 and to a member I2 at 64. As shown in Figure 5 the rearportion of each arm is provided with an automatic locking mechanism arearound the sleeve.

comprising a locking member 66 which pivots at 68 to an extension I0 oneach arm. The extension I0 is provided with a slot 12 which receives arod I4. A hook is on the locking member 66 is resiliently held in thelocked position by a spring I8 and the plunger 80 so as to force thehook I6 into engagement with the rod I4 to hold it securely in the slotI2. The rod I4 is held in rigid relation to the member I2 by a rearattachment lug 82 which is securely clamped to the member I2 at 63. Anauxiliary attachment lug 84 is placed on the member I2 at 86 so that thelocking member on the arm may be removed from the first attachment lug02 to be placed on the second attachment lug 84 when the chair isfolded.

Movement of the seat forward or backward is controlled by a handle 80which rotates a fiattened rod 69 for engagement with a plurality ofnotches 90 in a pair of slotted members 92 secured to the bottom of theseat at each side thereof in accordance with the usual construction ofdevices of this character. A link 94 is pivoted to the front crossmember I8 and holds the rod 89 to an arcuate path about the cross memberI8 of the frame so that the seat may be held solidly in any position ofadjustment.

Quick release floor attachments, shown in Figure 7 in the lockedposition, and in Figure8 in the unlocked position, are secured to eachof the legs of the chair. A tubular fitting H2 is riveted to the chairleg at 96. A bolt 98 is secured to the airplane floor and provided witha head I00 having an annular groove IOI. This bolt is held in thelocking assembly by a pair of steel balls I02 seated in radial aperturesin the fitting I I2 which are moved by a radially eccentric cam I04 onthe inner face of a sleeve I03 into groove IOI as the sleeve I03 isrotated. (See Figure 14.) When cam I04 is rotated out of engagement withballs I03 they are free to move out of groove I M The upper portion ofthe sleeve is provided with a knurled surface I06 for manually rotatingthe sleeve and with a slot I00 extending over a limited A resilientradial catch member H0 is secured to the fitting II2. Each end of theslot I08 in the sleeve I03 is provided with a downwardly offset notch(see Figure 13), these notches being adapted to engage and auto- 60matically hold the resilient catch member in a locked or unlockedposition, depending upon the direction the outer sleeve is turned.

Two or more of the chair units may be joined in lateral alignment byusing a common side frame member I2 between each two units, the frontand rear cross members of adjoining units being designed to be coupledto form through cross members.

A single or multiple unit chair may be supported at one end on anadjacent wall. For this purpose the ends of. the front and rear crossmembers are constructed so that they may have secured thereto a wallattachment plate II 4 shown in Figure 10 instead of a sideframe memberI2, at the chair end adjacent the wall. A notch H6 is provided in eachend of the wall attachment plate and is located to cooperate with lockassemblies I I 8 attached to the wall, the front assembly being a shownin Figures 11 and 12. A latch I20 is pivotally mounted on cars .I3I andI63 of a bracket I22 of the lock assembly H8 at I24. The latch I20 isheld in either an open or closed posit-ion by the engagement of a springloaded ball assembly I25 set in the bracket I22 which is adapted toengage either one of two .nected to the link 36.

notches ill and [23 around 'a'curved portlon of thelatch 1'20. Thus'when'theywall plate I I4 is .set'in a'notch I formedin the 'earsI-SI and 133"seats fastened together as described hereinabove which "are securedboth "to .the "floor and to the wall. By'mejans of the handle 88 thepassenger may adjust the .seat in 'any'position he desires from anuprig'litto a semi-recliningposition. As

:the passengerm'oves the handle upward the flattenjed rod .89 towhichthe handle is secured is rotated and disengaged tfrom'the "notches inthe:slotted'member 9.2 so that a slight movement of his bodyforward orbackward will urge the seat and back to the position desired. As soonasthe handle isreleased'one of the severalnotches in the slottedmemberSZisenga-ged 'by'the flattened rod 89 as the samere'turnsto its normalposition so that theseat andback will remain in the newly adjustedposition.

'Torremove the seats from the floor and wall in the passengercompartment for stowing in another part of the airplane the handle 88 isreleasediand the seatpushed backward until the flattenedrod 89restsinlthepassage ill in front of the notches 90 in the slotted member"92. This backward movement of "the seat 34 cause the upperportion .ofthe chairlback '44 to moveforward 'by reason of the backibeing pivotallyconlocking lever A6 is pulled upwardly against the action .of the spring54 so that the hook '50 is disengaged from the pin 52 set in the lowerportionof theseat back. l-This action releases'the back so that lit.folds forwardly about the pivot '62 to rest in a'horizontal positionabove theseat To complete the folding .movemerit or the chairback, the,handle of the which has moved backwardly and downwardly a shown inFigure 3. "In moving the seat backwardly it is pushed off the rollers onthe front cross member l8 and suspended in a lower position by the links36 and 94.

So that no part of the chair projects above the back after the same hasbeen folded over the seat, the arms 5% of the chair must be foldedforwardly and downwardly. This is accomplished by pushing the lockingmember 66 on both arms downwardly against the action of the plunger 80and spring 18. This allows the rearward portion of the arms to be liftedupward so that they are disengaged from the rod [4 in the rearattachment lug 82. The arms may now be pushed forward by reason of thelinks 60 until the slot 12 in the extension m at the rear of the arm isin line with auxiliary attachment lug 84 The arm is then pusheddownwardly until the catch 15 snaps into place. The seat is now readyfor re- .moval from the floor.

The resilient catch member H0 on the floor attachments are movedupwardly until the knurled portion 36 of the outer sleeve may be turned.After the outer sleeve has been turned so that the, resilient catchsnaps into the recess in the opposite end of the slot lllB balls 32 arefree to be released from the annular groove llll in the floor bolt 98 bythe removal of the pressure of cam 104 in the outer sleeve so that thelegs are ready for removal from the floor bolt. After all floorattachment are unlocked the seats are removed from the wall. The latch'members "I 20 must be pulled outwardly. This action removes the tonguemember I28 from the notches l-l-li'in the wall plate. The entire seatassembly is now lifted upwardly from the floor, thelegs 'Hland I6 arefolded under the "seat and the-unitis ready for stowmg This proceduremust be reversed in order to reinstall the chairs to theirproperposition in the passenger compartment. I

I claim: 1 V v '1. An adjustablefolding chair comprising a frame havinga front cross member; rollers 'on said crossmember; a seat slidablymountedbn said rollers; a link; means for pivotally connecting theopposite ends of said linkto the rear portion of said seat and saidframe respectively whereby said seatmay be slidably moved relative tosaid cross member; a backrest; means for pivotally connecting said backrest intermediate the ends'thereof to said frame; and means forpivotally interconnecting said link andthe lower and said framerespectively; a back rest pivoted on said frame for movementto and froma positi'on overlying said seat in substantial parallelism therewith;and means havin connectin means thereon for pivotally interconnectingsaid seat and backrest, said connecting means being manually releasableto permit said backrest to be pivotally moved to aposition'overlyingsaid seat.

3. In an adjustable folding chair: a main frame, saidmain frame having apair of'vertically disposed side members and front and rear crossmembers holding said vertically disposed members'in horizontally spacedrelation: ,a seat; means for slidably sup-porting said "seat on saidfront cross member; a pair of links; means for pivotally connecting theopposite ends of each link to a vertical side member and a side edge ofsaid seat respectively, so that said seat may he slidably moved relativeto said front member; a back rest; means for pivoting said back restbetween said vertical side members; m ans for pivotally connecting saidback rest to said links to give said back rest a definite relativeposition with respect to said seat for each position of adjustment ofsaid seat, said last named connecting means being operable to releasesaid back rest so that it may be pivotally moved to a position overlyingsaid seat; a pair of arm rests; and means for mounting said arm rests onsaid side members, said means permitting said arm rests to be moved froman operative position extending above said side members to anon-operative position in substantial contact with said side memberswhen the back rest is pivotally moved to a position overlying said seat.

t. In an adjustable folding chair: a main frame having a pair ofvertically disposed side members and horizontally disposed front andrear members in spaced relation; a seat; a pair of links; means forpivotally connecting the opposite ends of each link to a vertical sidemember and a side edge of said seat adjacent the rear portion thereofrespectively; means on said frame for slidably supporting the frontportion of said seat whereby the same may be moved between forward andrearward portions relative to said frame; a back rest; means forpivotally connecting said back rest between said vertical side members;and means for pivotally connecting the lower portion of said back restto said links adjacent the rear edge of said seat so that movement ofsaid seat brings about conjoint movement of said back rest.

5. In a seat of the type described: a main frame having front and rearcross members spacing apart a pair of vertical side members; a seat; apair of links; means for pivotally connecting the opposite ends of eachlink to a vertical side member and a side edge of said seat adjacent therear thereof respectively; means for slidably supporting the frontportion of said seat on said front cross member; a back rest; means forpivotally mounting said back rest to said vertical side members formovement to and from a position overlying said seat in substantialparallelism therewith; means for pivotally connecting said back rest tosaid seat whereby said back rest is pivotally moved relative to saidframe as said seat is moved; and means for manually releasing saidconnecting means whereby said back rest may be folded against said seat.

6. An adjustable folding chair comprising a frame having a front crossmember; rollers on said cross member: a seat slidably mounted on saidrollers; a link; means for pivotally connecting the opposite ends ofsaid link to the rear portion of said seat and said frame respectivelywhereby said seat may be slidably moved relative to said cross member; aback rest; means for pivotally connecting said back rest intermediatethe ends thereof to said frame; a hook pivotally carried by said link; apin carried by the back rest adjacent the lower edge thereof and adaptedto be engaged by said hook for pivotally interconnecting said link andthe lower portion of said back rest whereby said back rest will beangularly adjusted about the pivotal connection between the same andsaid frame as the seat is adjusted;

position of adjustment.

7. In an adjustable folding chair: a main frame, said main frame havinga pair of vertically disposed side members and front and rear crossmembers holding said vertically disposed members in horizontal spacedrelation: a seat; a pair of elongate links; means for pivotallyconnecting an end of a link to each vertical side member; means forpivotally connectin the free ends of said links to opposite sides ofsaid seat adjacent the rear edge thereof; means for slidably supportingthe front portion of said seat on said front cross member; a back rest;means for pivotally mounting said back rest between said side membersfor movement about the axis of the pivotal connection between saidelongate links and the vertical side members; and means for pivotallyinterconnecting the lower edge of said back rest and the elongate linkswhereby said back rest will be pivotally moved as said seat is slidablymoved over the supporting means on said front cross member.

8. An adjustable folding chair comprising a frame having a front crossmember; rollers on said cross member; a seat slidably mounted on saidrollers; a link; means for pivotally connecting the opposite ends ofsaid link to the rear portion of said seat and said frame respectivelywhereby said seat may be slidably moved relative to said cross member; aback rest; means for pivotally connecting said back rest intermediatethe ends thereof to said frame; a hook pivotally carried by said link; apin carried by the back rest adjacent the lower edge thereof and adaptedto be engaged by said hook for pivotally interconnecting said link andthe lower portion of said back rest whereby said back rest will beangularly adjusted about the pivotal connection between the same andsaid frame as the seat is adjusted; and resilient means for normallyholding said hook in engagement with said pin, said resilient meanspermitting said hook to be moved out of engagement with said pin wherebysaid back rest may be moved to a position overlying said seat.

ALLAN B. ROGERS, SR.

